Media Statement by Teo Nie Ching in Petaling Jaya on Wednesday, 28^th April 2010:

Fatal shooting of Aminulrasyid Amzah must be investigated professionally and in a transparent manner to ensure no cover-up and intimidation of witness

I would like to express my outrage and sadness with regard to the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Aminulrasyid Amzah in the early hours of Monday, 26 April.

There are two versions to the story. According to the police report lodged by Aminulrasyid’s friend who is the only witness, the two were returning from a restaurant in Section 7 in the early hours of Monday morning.

They were chased by a police MPV after they overtook the said vehicle. The police shot at their car, and they were forced to stop on the road shoulder.

Aminulrasyid’s friend said he got out from the car to surrender but was kicked and punched by the police officers. He struggled and managed to escape, and went straight home.

In a report in Utusan however, the police claimed that the two were behaving “suspiciously” and decided to give chase. Rather than slowing down, the teenagers allegedly sped up, which prompted the police to shoot at the car’s tyres.

The car then stopped and one of the suspects exited the vehicle and escaped on foot. Suddenly the car reversed and tried to ram the policemen, which was when the policemen started firing at Aminulrasyid in “self-defence”. The police also said that a machete was found in the car.

What is frightening to me in this case is that this isn’t the first time that our police officers have been accused of being trigger-happy in “enforcing” the law.

In October 2009, Norizan Salleh was shot five times when the police opened fire at the car she was travelling in with some friends. Her right wrist bone was shattered by two bullets while two other bullets grazed her arm and torso. The last bullet hit her in the middle of her chest, narrowly missing her heart.

There have been countless other examples where the police have shot at unarmed, innocent civilians. According to Suaram’s documentation and monitoring, in 2008, there were 44 cases of death by police shooting with possibly more unreported cases.

What is it about the training that our police officers undergo that is so different to other countries where occurrences such as these are not so common? What is it about our police force that they have a tendency to “shoot first, ask questions later”?

From media reports, we are told that Aminulrasyid was a cheerful teenager who liked sports and had many friends in school. He was also due to sit for his PMR exam this year.

It is a crying shame that Aminulrasyid has had his life cut short so suddenly by something so unfortunate, and very likely avoidable -- if only our police force did not behave in such a reckless and irresponsible manner, with no regard for the value of human lives.

We also echo the feelings of the mother of the deceased Norsiah Mohamad who condemned the police for calling her son a criminal, even before any investigation had taken place.

It is wrong and callous for the police to behave in such a manner, and sadly, the Malaysian public has no confidence in the police force’s assurances of a professional investigation for we have seen too many cases of police brutality covered up by the authorities.

We therefore support PAS MP Khalid Samad’s view that the witness (Aminulrasyid’s friend) must be protected at all costs and there should be no intimidation of the witness at any time.

As for Noh Omar’s statement that the issue would be raised in the Cabinet meeting today and the Home Minister’s directive for a special panel to investigate the case, it looks like the government is showing more concern now than they have ever shown for any other victims of police shootings.

In light of that, we demand that the matter be investigated properly and let there be no cover-up of the issue.

When the Human Rights Council in Geneva conducted the Universal Periodic Review in June 2009, Malaysia’s human rights track record came under scrutiny. Among HRC’s recommendations was that the Malaysian Government should ensure regular training for representatives of the police force so as to educate them on human rights and the legally-binding nature of international law, and the need to avoid discrimination.

Therefore, we hope that the training courses that our police force undergo can be reviewed and fine-tuned to ensure that they do not continue to have a “shoot first, investigate later” attitude and mentality, as human lives are at stake.

* Teo Nie Ching, DAP Assistant National Publicity Secretary & DAP MP for Serdang